The next morning, the forest feels heavier.
The scorched patterns from the previous night have now cooled, while ash continues to float in the air. Zach and I speed through the undergrowth while our silence moves together more effectively than awkwardly. Zach regularly inspects his Aetherplate for signs of teammate connection, yet finds no differences.
There is still no trace of Aoki, Abdul, or Jennifer anywhere, and there is no signal from Julian or Chris, either.
The ravine shown on Zach's initial mission map reveals itself as a jagged crevice entwined with broken roots beneath a dense mist. On the other side: part of the nest perimeter, barely visible. The source of their investigation extends further into the area.
I squint across the divide. "You think they made it?"
Zach shakes his head slightly. "We'll find out."
We start our crossing with a broken log, which we reinforce with Zach's magically summoned ropes when the Aetherplate device emits a sound.
[Abdul – Status: Alive | Location: Intermittent]
Zach's posture shifts immediately. "We've got one."
We make fast progress through the remaining thicket because the signal continues to amplify. Strange roots envelop the distant tower halfway up its height, displaying thick strands of veins which emit a faint pulsing, unnatural green glow. The building appears extremely ancient and seems as though it should have collapsed long ago.
Abdul is found slumped against the wall while gripping his arm inside the tower. His breathing is ragged, but steady.
Zach calls out "Abdul!" and his voice loses its typical hardness while his eyes show a brief glimpse of real emotion.
Abdul looks up, dazed. "Zach…?"
As I examine the tower inside, I see no movement except for the shadows and creeping vines, yet the atmosphere feels unsettling. Like we're standing in something that's watching.
Zach drops to his knees while extracting a small healing crystal from his equipment, which he then places against Abdul's injury. Faint light pulses from the gem.
I then ask about the extent of the injury while maintaining a subdued tone.
"Fractured, I think," Abdul mutters. "Got flung during a warp pulse. Jennifer—she was with me. I don't know where she landed."
I've heard about warp pulses before. They usually happen when powerful creatures are near by. Since stronger creatures possess an extreme amount of Aethereum, these Aethereum will cause these warp pulses that would have an effect on living beings that have way less Aethereum than them. Either way, Abdul is lucky to be alive.
"That is not good news, if she landed by herself, then she is in big trouble," I look at him.
"This is my friend Julius, you've probably seen him at the awakening ceremony," Zach says.
Abdul nods.
I look at Zach before my gaze turns to the glowing vines that intertwine with the tower walls. "This… doesn't feel like a minor mission. You said the mission was routine. What's your real objective?"
Zach hesitates, jaw tight. "We were told it was a containment check. Usually, missions are ranked from class 1 to 9, 9 being the most unthreatening, and our mission theoretically should be a class 9, but this feels much more dangerous, possibly a class 8 or even 7."
"What the hell?"
He looks me in the eye. "Yeah, Julius, we would be lucky to all leave here alive."
I step closer. "So what's going on? Why were you sent here?"
Zach doesn't answer right away. Then:
"There's a name—Raffkare, and I complied with this Julius. I decided I am going to do this, and I thought it would only be Aoki and a few seniors with me. Raffkare killed my family, and he's the reason why I am at Velmara. Aoki got a private alert from Velmara command two nights before deployment. No file history, no briefing notes, nothing in the plates. Just a name and a caution tag: mid-level rogue Aetherkind. He's part of an anti-human group… an organization that wants to wipe us out."
That explains a lot. I don't know why Velmara sent some first years to go with this mission, but this whole expedition is a lot deeper than I expected. The only possibility I can think of is that someone high up at Velmara planned this to wipe out as many students as possible. The plan is pretty simple: sending the wrong students to the wrong places just for them to commit suicide.
My heart sinks a little. "Do you think someone planned this?"
"Looks that way."
I look down at Abdul, who's still breathing hard. The silence inside the tower presses in again.
"So this isn't just a mission," I mutter. "It's a trap."
Zach rises, eyes scanning the dark archways deeper into the structure. "Then we don't play it like soldiers. We move like survivors. And if we're lucky, we find the others before he does."